As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to these users is an information handling system. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may vary with respect to the type of information handled; the methods for handling the information; the methods for processing, storing or communicating the information; the amount of information processed, stored, or communicated; and the speed and efficiency with which the information is processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include or comprise a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
An information handling system may include multiple processors and multiple input/output (I/O) hubs (IOHs). IOHs are commercially available microchips designed to connect various I/O devices to processors and memory. Each IOH may include a number of PCI Express (PCIe) ports for connecting various I/O devices. In a system that includes two or more IOHs, the IOHs may be coupled to one another using a PCIe link. In this architectural example, if one of the IOHs loses its direct link to its connected processors, the IOH-to-IOH link is used as the path between the IOH and its previously connected processors. If the connection between the two IOHs is hard wired, however, there will be fewer available PCIe ports for connecting I/O devices. If all of the IOH PCIe ports are dedicated to connecting I/O devices, however, the reliability, availability, and serviceability advantages of directly coupling the IOHs together are lost.